The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop Running board removal question

How am I supposed to get access to the back side of the nuts on the inner channel? There are square nuts on the bottom that I can easily reach. What tool can I use to stop the top of the nut from rotating? Doesn't have access to get any wrench in there?

Thanks for the time!

I don't have your model but they may have used carriage bolts, the bolt may have a square shank that will keep it from turning. I would soak them well with penetrant, use heat on the square nut if it won't damage anything. You want to make sure that the nut is going to come loose and not spin the square shank.

You can try a screwdriver to wedge in the back of the channel to hold the carrage bolt tight while you wrench the nut off .use lots of penatrant to loosen them up first .If I remember correct once you get them loose you might be able to wiggle them out as they are fitted in a keyhole type hole with a tab holding the head of the carrage bolt

I spent over an hour using penetrating oil and a torch heating the nuts up cherry red and succeeded in removing all but the last three. Like you, I couldn’t keep the bolt from turning so I used a angle grinder with a cutoff wheel to remove the rest. Where the rear fender bolts to the running board, I found clutch head machine screws with square headed nuts. There was no way those were coming apart so I cut them off too.

I ordered a new set of running board bolts from Classic Parts for only six dollars. In retrospect, I should have cut them all, as I wasted allot of time removing bolts that were too corroded to reuse.

Here is a link for those bolts.

Most times, I grab the nut with a vice grip and wiggle back and forth until they break off. They are usually that corroded.

Mini air grinder is the correct wrench for blind carriage bolt nuts.

I broke or cut off mine. After trying to remove them I found that tighting to break them or cutting them off was much better. You will want to replace them so no need to try and save them.

These are all great suggestions, so I'll give it a shot this morning!

When you replace them, use stainless steel carriage bolts and stainless washers and nuts. The next guy to remove them will want to send you a thank you note.

The original carriage bolts have an extra large head on them. This helps to naturally align them the way the wide heads fit securely in the slots in the running board. A standard sized carriage bolt head would make installing them to the running board brackets a major pain.

I took the ones off my 53 a couple of months ago. I thought I was going to be smart and used penetrating oil and wire brushed the bolt ends. A couple came off. Most of them spun and tore up the slot in the running board that now needs repaired. I was able to break a couple. Some of them I was able to cut the nuts with a 3" cut off wheel. The ones back in the corners of the mount I had to grind off with a carbide burr on a die grinder. In retrospect I should have probably just cut the ones that didn't easily come off and not damaged the running boards.

Well guys success! I was able to use a combination of the suggested methods. Most of them came off by wiggling with a pair of vice grips. A couple were more stubborn and I had to resort to a cut-off wheel. And one came off just by loosening the nut!

That may be the first one in the history of Chevy trucks.

Glad to hear you’ve got them off. Sounds like my exact experience!